


to the ends of the earth (would you follow me)

by Salty_Cro



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Early Mornings, First Kiss, Getting Together, Hiking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_Cro/pseuds/Salty_Cro
Summary: It's a while after everything's done and Indrid and Duck are settling in to this new peacefully weird chapter in their lives. Duck is the definition of an early bird and Indrid is willing to follow him anywhere.





	to the ends of the earth (would you follow me)

**Author's Note:**

> this is self indulgent it's personal it's gay it's domestic it's anything you could ever want from me! take it!

Indrid wakes up to Duck getting out of bed. It’s dark in Duck’s bedroom, but the room was tinted blue like the sun might rise soon. Indrid is still mildly surprised that they're sharing a bed. It’s a completely platonic arrangement, and they had been doing it for a few weeks, but their sleeping schedules rarely coincide like this. Indrid doesn’t hate it.

“It’s early,” Indrid notes.

Duck pulls some clothes out of his dresser. “You wanna come?”

“Where are you going?” Indrid asks.

“Hiking,” Duck says simply. He’s taking off his shirt. Indrid isn’t bothered, but he is distracted by the tattoo that arches across Duck’s hairy chest. He almost has it memorized by now.

“I’ll go,” Indrid says. He’s curious where Duck will take him. Sure, he could look that far ahead, but what fun is that?

“Be ready in fifteen minutes?”

“Alright.”

Duck leaves the room carrying the rest of his clothes. Indrid sits up, stretches, scratches Toaster behind the ears, and slides out of bed. He shuffles over to Duck’s dresser, skips over the drawer Duck cleared out for him, and grabs his second favorite hoodie of Duck’s. He wouldn’t want to get his favorite all dusty, and besides, he’s already wearing it.

Five minutes later, Indrid is fully dressed, and he takes Duck’s place in the bathroom. Five more minutes, and he meets Duck in the kitchen. Duck is putting something in a cooler bag. Indrid gets the black water bottle out of the cabinet and fills it up. He gets out Duck’s green metal one and fills that up too. Duck takes both and adds them to the bag.

Indrid is also still getting used to this cooperative domesticity. With everyone living in Duck’s apartment, but especially Duck himself. They move so smoothly in tandem. It isn’t even because of Indrid’s future sight. He can’t seem to find this perfect rhythm with anyone else. It’s nice, Indrid decides, even if he’s not sure what it means.

“You ready to go?” Duck whispers. He shoulders the cooler bag and starts putting on his boots.

“Yeah.” Indrid puts on his own boots and checks the pockets of his jacket for his usual supplies. First aid kit, multitool, twine, small notebook with extra pens, et cetera. It’s all there, so he slides it on.

Duck opens the door and Indrid follows him out to the car. They get in and Duck starts the engine and it’s quiet, there’s no radio right now. As they drive off into the trees, Indrid wonders if he should put in a CD.

He looks over at Duck to gauge his potential reactions to music. But now the sun is starting to rise, and because they’re driving south it’s framing Duck’s profile perfectly. There’s a halo effect being created by the stray pink hairs coming out of Duck’s loose bun, and Indrid wishes he could take a picture.

“What? Why are you staring at me?" Duck asks self-consciously. Indrid can tell he’s beginning to doubt himself, from the futures but also because he keeps looking over at Indrid.

Indrid shrugs. "The sun is directly behind your head from my angle, it’s very cool."

Duck laughs, "Yeah, I’ve been working on my sun symbolism lately."

More golden light is filling the car as the sun rises. Indrid smiles, “Oh really? because I was thinking I would develop some moon symbolism."

"Nice,” Duck grins, glancing over at Indrid again. “You wanna have a complicated and tragic love story?"

"I would love to!" Indrid laughs.

The car falls back to calm silence again. There’s still no music. Indrid doesn’t mind. He lets the rumble of the engine fill the quiet edges of his mind. He thinks about sun and moon dichotomies. He wonders where Duck is taking him. He wonders if he’s fallen in love.

That’s what it has to be, right? Why else would Indrid trust Duck so much? Why would he be so coordinated to Duck’s every behavior? It isn’t as if Indrid could act on it, anyway. Well, he certainly could, and he technically has in the past, but the context is so different now. They have the rest of their futures now. Indrid is happy now. He doesn’t _ need _ more from Duck. Does he?

Before Indrid can figure it out, Duck stops the car. They’re in a pullout next to a practically overgrown trailhead. Duck is already getting out of the car. Indrid remembers he’s there too and gets out of the car as well. He meets Duck at the sign.

“I gotta warn ya, this is a long trail. And it’s mostly hiking, but there’s some rock scrambling near the peak,” Duck said.

“Alright,” Indrid said.

Duck seems relieved that Indrid isn’t going to hide in the car. “Alright, well, let’s get going. I was hoping we could at least get to the plateau before the sun’s fully up.”

“You brought food, I’m assuming?” Indrid asks.

Duck holds up the cooler bag. Indrid grins. They start walking.

The hike is long, Duck was right about that. They trek the first mile through trees and brush, gaining elevation as they go. The leaves filter golden light onto the ground below. The whole forest is cast in an ethereal contrast. Indrid wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

* * *

Duck is starting to think he’s in love with Indrid.

Well, he’s been thinking about it for days now, but this is the first time he’s let himself actually consider it. Being here, walking next to Indrid, feels like the most natural thing in the world. Indrid matches his pace easily, and looks enamored with the scenery. Duck wonders if they should make this a regular thing. Then he wonders if that’s just his sleep-addled brain twisting things beyond reason. Then he wonders why he’s worrying about it so much.

Indrid really is the best one to take on these early morning hikes, though. He’s one of the only ones who actually wants to wake up early, for one, and he’s the only one who keeps up with Duck exactly. Juno’s more of a night owl than an early bird like Duck. Minerva and Dani are great but they’re so enthusiastic, and Leo would slam the door in Duck’s face if he invited him. Besides, Indrid gets it. He’s the only one who knows what Duck means when he gets on a tangent about leaf decay. Or at least the only one who cares.

But no, Duck is pretty sure he’s not in love with Indrid. He just doesn’t have any other close masculine friends in his age group.

They keep hiking. Duck’s hand has brushed Indrid’s a few times by the time they cross the treeline. Duck wonders if he should just hold Indrid’s hand. Maybe when they get to the switchbacks.

Okay, now they’ve walked farther, the sun is getting higher, and they’ve made it to the switchbacks. Duck stops and pulls their water bottles out of the cooler bag. Indrid accepts his and they both take a long drink.

“You wanna keep going? This is the halfway point, so if you feel halfway through your energy we should probably turn around,” Duck asks.

“I think I can keep going, unless you want to go back?” Indrid replies.

“I’m good too.”

Indrid nods, and they keep going. Duck brushes his hand against Indrid’s experimentally, and when Indrid doesn’t pull away, Duck goes for it. He grabs Indrid’s hand. Indrid, to Duck’s surprise, laces their fingers together. Duck has already gotten this far, so he goes with it. He started it, anyway.

They’re still walking. At this point, it would probably be harder to stop. Duck’s legs carry him on autopilot to each turnaround. He’s not even paying attention to where he’s going. He’s thinking about the glowing light of the sun edging up over the trees, about Indrid’s hand in his, about—

“Careful.” Indrid yanks Duck back by the hand.

Duck stumbles backwards, watching the edge of the cliff slough down in rocky chunks. “Oh shit! Thank you.”

“I thought your days of skating off cliffs were over, Duck,” Indrid teases.

Duck groans. “Juno’s never gonna let me live that one down, huh? I was just distracted, sorry.”

“I understand,” Indrid smiles lightly.

And if Duck moves closer to Indrid, holds his hand tighter, and thinks about kissing him? That’s his own personal business.

Another set of switchbacks, and then a few more, and then the trail fades into a steep incline of protruding rocks.

“You wanna stick down here or you think we should climb?” Duck asks.

“Well we’re already here, we may as well get to the end,” Indrid says.

“Alright, well, this is gonna be a little dicey ‘cause it’s not technically trail-rated.” Duck pulls the cooler bag across his chest and tightens the straps. He looks back at Indrid, who is standing away from the rock face with an amused expression. “What?”

“Do you want me to carry it?” Indrid offers.

“It’s not that far,” Duck shrugs.

“I can fly,” Indrid reminds him.

“That’s cheating,” Duck retorts. Indrid laughs. "Fine."

Indrid smiles and walks up to Duck, unhooking the strap of the bag and taking it. Duck forces himself to remember to breathe. Indrid steps back, giving Duck space to climb.

Duck turns to the rocks, his face hot. “Let’s see if this is still doable.”

With that, he started climbing. He should probably have some kind of gear, or at least a helmet, but it was a little late for that. The indentations in the slope of the stone created a natural staircase. If Duck could keep his balance, there was a direct shot up to the peak. After a few minutes or maybe an hour, he made it.

Less than a minute later, Indrid clambered over the edge, with his glasses off. Said glasses and the cooler bag were held in his lower arms while his upper ones brushed off the dust that had accumulated during the climb.

“It’s not cheating because I did climb it,” Indrid says.

“If you say so,” Duck grins.

The peak itself isn’t all that wide. It’s about ten feet wide, with sparse ground cover plants. They’re on the southeast side of the mountain. The sun is balanced on the tip of a mountain across the canyon, making all the trees look extra defined. Duck takes a deep breath of the thin, cool air.

“Should we eat?” Indrid suggests.

“Yes, definitely.”

Indrid sits down on the ground (still without glasses) and starts going through the cooler bag. He passes Duck his water bottle, which Duck gratefully accepts. Duck sits down next to Indrid, facing the sunrise. Indrid flexes a wing to rest behind Duck.

“Aha!” Indrid whispers. He pulls out a ziploc bag of dried fruit. “This is— what’s the thing Aubrey says? Very gay rights. Thank you.”

Duck laughs. Indrid hands him the cooler bag. Duck takes out the yogurt and spoon he’d pinned between two ice packs.

“This is fun,” Indrid says.

Duck looks up at him, struggling to swallow the yogurt he’d just put in his mouth. “Yeah?”

“I feel very… clear-headed, now,” Indrid says.

“It does kinda throw your worries to wayside,” Duck nods.

“Definitely,” Indrid says, munching pensively on a dried apricot. His mandiles are relaxed, Duck notices, something that rarely happens while Indrid has his glasses off.

They eat quietly for another few minutes. Duck moves a little closer to Indrid, and Indrid’s wing closes tighter around him. The sky is light blue and cloudless, and there’s a slight breeze picking up. Duck finishes his yogurt and puts the trash into an extra grocery bag.

Indrid finishes his food soon after. Duck watches him take a drink of his water, thinking they should probably head out soon. Then a gust of wind rips the empty ziploc from Indrid’s loose grasp and tosses it off the edge.

“Shit.” Indrid leaps up.

Duck hears the ripple of Indrid’s wings more than he sees it. He watches Indrid swoop down towards the trees. Indrid pulls wide, grabs the ziploc, and shoots up into the sky. He circles around to the peak and glides to a landing.

For a second, Duck is so stunned by the realization that he’s in love with Indrid that he forgets he’s a person. Then he remembers that, and remembers Indrid is looking at him, and remembers to speak. “Show off.”

“I got it though, didn’t I?” Indrid smiles teasingly.

“You sure did,” Duck says. He’s avoiding Indrid’s eyes. If he looks up, Indrid will know.

“Shall we start going back?” Indrid asks.

“Yeah,” Duck sighs. He packs up the cooler bag and stands up.

“What if— now hear me out— what if I flew us back down instead of walking?” Indrid tries.

Duck thinks about it. On the one hand, he’s tired, but on the other, flying means hiding his face in Indrid’s chest for a few minutes. Duck isn’t sure he can handle that. He wants to let Indrid carry him though, is the thing.

“Alright,” Duck gives in.

Indrid grins and bends down. “You’re going to have to hold my glasses.”

Duck takes Indrid’s glasses and lets Indrid wrap his lower arms firmly around Duck’s waist. Duck hooks his arms under Indrid’s shoulders, holding the cooler bag with both hands. Indrid holds the back of Duck’s neck with one hand and the middle of his back with the other. Then he straightens up, lifting Duck like it’s nothing. Duck wraps his legs around Indrid’s waist and he’s pretty sure he’s gonna pass out. It would be so easy to kiss Indrid right now, he thinks.

They’ve done this before, a few times. But it’s never felt so _ intimate _. Duck has never felt the urge to tuck his face against Indrid’s shoulder before. He’s never been so excited to let Indrid carry him dozens of feet above the ground before. Duck is deeply, severely fucked.

“Are you ready?” Indrid asks.

“Yeah,” Duck mumbles.

Indrid takes off. Duck’s breath is knocked out of him, his stomach lurches, and he clings to Indrid tighter. Indrid pulls him closer and Duck can’t help it; he hides his face in Indrid’s fuzzy thorax and tries to regulate his breathing. At least this time he can blame it on the adrenaline.

By the time they touch down, Duck thinks he’s dead. He’s numb from the speed, from Indrid holding him so close. His knees are wobbly when Indrid sets him down next to the car. Indrid grabs his shoulders to steady him, and that only makes it worse. Duck wordlessly hands Indrid his glasses. Indrid slips them on.

Duck finally regains his ability to speak. “So, uh, since we— we got some extra time, I was thinking we could maybe _ mmph— _” 

Indrid is kissing him. Fuck! Duck kisses Indrid back like it’s the easiest thing in the world. It is! Indrid’s lips are soft against Duck’s and his hands are tugging at Duck’s arms and Duck is not even sure he’s alive anymore.

It isn’t until he has to breathe again that Duck pulls away. “Hey. What?”

“Sorry, that was rude, what were you saying?” Indrid replies.

“No you say your thing, it seems important,” Duck insists.

“Okay, well, I was just going to say that I, uh, I’m in love with you,” Indrid says.

“Oh! Great! ‘Cause I was— I don’t know if you’d noticed, like, in the past couple o’ minutes I just found out I was in love with you? But yeah, cool, that’s— this is great,” Duck says, equally as awkward.

“What were you saying before?” Indrid asks.

“I was thinking since we got some extra time, we could drop the truck off at the apartment and go for a walk? Maybe to the spot by the river?” Duck suggests.

“That sounds fun,” Indrid nods, “Can we kiss again?”

“Yeah.”

And they do, and it really is great. Duck rests his hand on the small of Indrid’s back, Indrid threads his fingers through Duck’s hair. They stand kissing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for way too long, and yet Duck feels like he hasn’t had enough. 

“We should go, huh?” Duck asks, still holding on tight.

“Mmh,” comes Indrid’s reply, buried in Duck’s shoulder.

Duck laughs. “C’mon, someone’s gonna send out a search party ‘cause we didn’t leave a note and it’s almost nine.”

“I love you,” Indrid says softly, extricating himself from Duck’s arms.

“I love you too,” Duck smiles. “Now let’s go, you can pick what music we listen to even.”

“Now that is true love,” Indrid grins.

“You can play Two Trucks _ once _,” Duck warns. 

Indrid laughs as he gets into the passenger seat. “Is it too early to ask you to marry me?”

“I’ll consider it,” Duck says, starting the car.

They pull back onto the road, windows down to let the cool morning air in. The sun shines benevolently through the fresh pines. Over the roar of the engine, the first few notes of Two Trucks plays, and an exaggerated groan sounds through the driver window. It’s exactly as peaceful and perfect as it should be.


End file.
